Magic Terror - by Peter Straub (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of "Ghost Story" comes this collection of seven bone-chilling--and award-winning--tales of terror. These stories include the chilling confessions of a sociopath's ghost, a cuckolded man's descent into evil and revenge, and a tale guaranteed to give parents nightmares.

Book Synopsis

A collection of seven exquisite tales about living, dying, and the horror that lies in between, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Story

"Elegant, terrifying, provocative."--The Washington Post Book World

Welcome to a new kind of terror as Peter Straub leads us into the outer reaches of the psyche. Here the master of the macabre is at his absolute best in seven chilling stories that explore the darkest depths of the human mind.

"Bunny Is Good Bread" takes us into the mind of a small boy trapped in grotesque circumstances to portray the creation of a serial killer in a manner that compels pity, sorrow, comprehension, and grief--as well as judgement.

"Hunger, an Introduction," narrated by the ghost of a pompous, self-pitying murderer, evokes a profoundly beautiful vision of earthly life, one appreciated far more by the dead than the living.

The award-winning novella "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff," a masterpiece of black comedy, draws upon Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" to create a revenge tale in which torture is a moral art and the revenger undergoes a transforming, albeit painful, education.

The terrain of these extraordinary stories is marked by brutality, heartbreak, despair, wonder, and an unexpected humor that allows empathy to blossom within the most unlikely contexts.

Review Quotes

"A powerful gathering of suspense and horror stories"--The Denver Post

"Compelling . . . Magic Terror is bliss for readers whose love of the eerie doesn't preclude a taste for literary elegance. . . . [Straub] is one of the few fin-de-siècle writers whose stories can stand alongside works by twentieth-century masters of the macabre such as King, Robert Aickman, Shirley Jackson, and Edith Wharton."--The Washington Post Book World

"There is no safety in this literate and much praised cluster of stories. It's beautifully written stuff that breaks into the place where you live, breaching all psychologically installed security systems. . . . And although we desire to read it for many reasons, the truest one is that Peter Straub writes with compassion. He gets the link between modern horror and classic tragedy."--The Philadelphia Inquirer

"The protagonist of each of these stories has had a horrible, frightening life. Yet, the compassion you feel for them doesn't keep your skin from crawling as you descend deeper and deeper into their terrible, twisted minds."--The New York Post

"Masterful . . . his plots are as full of twists and turns as they are of shocks and chills."--Baton Rouge Magazine

"As in all of Straub's works, the stories here are carefully crafted. This is a book lovers of horror fiction won't want to miss."--Rocky Mountain News

"In subtle images, Peter Straub brings back forgotten childhood nightmares. His seven short stories in Magic Terror eat away slowly at the unsuspecting reader. . . . His terror lurks in the cries for help hidden inside victims' minds. . . . Readers think about Straub's endings long after they put his books down."--The Freelance Star

"The most shocking fiction collection in years creates a brilliant kaleidoscope of psychological shadow worlds. The terrain of these extraordinary stories is marked by brutality, heartbreak, despair, wonder, and an unexpected humor that allows empathy to flourish in the most unlikely circumstances."--The Third Alternative magazine

About the Author

Peter Straub authored numerous bestselling novels, including Ghost Story, Floating Dragon, Shadowland, and Julia--as well as The Talisman and Black House, which he co-authored with Stephen King. He also published short fiction, poetry, and a graphic novel. A prolific Grand Master of Horror, he won the British Fantasy Award; ten Bram Stoker Awards; three International Horror Guild Awards; ten World Fantasy Awards; and was the recipient of several Lifetime Achievement Awards. He passed away in 2022.